Change
by ShadowSoundAppend
Summary: "Draw your swords and hold them high! We are the Shadow Paladins! All troops, charge!" The transition from a Royal Paladin to a Shadow Paladin was hard, but this was the first step. She would fight for her home, her real friends. Oneshot featuring Darkness Maiden, Macha.


**A/N: So I haven't been online in quite a while. I apologise, I was really busy. Anyway, I'll be updating my fics at least once a week now. I'm currently working on a Code Geass one, and I may even consider a CFV-Zexal Crossover~ I haven't decided yet, because these few months are full of tests and exams, urgh. **

**Right then, enjoy the fic~**

~~~X~~~

'_A genius commander of the Shadow Paladin who commands a single battalion like her own hands and feet. During a certain war she participated in while a member of the Royal Paladins, she intentionally caused a great number of victims to suffer in order to obtain victory, after which, the same day she was placed under house arrest, she was estranged from the army. With her cool-headedness that makes her willing to sacrifice friend and subordinate to achieve her goals, she acts under the belief of "The winners decide what is right".'_

A maiden bound in chains was led before the king of the Royal Paladins, her light blue hair accenting her piercing golden eyes as she gave her account of the incident to Alfred, whose eyes narrowed in growing rage. Her voice was detached as she received many glares and disgusted looks, her eyes vacant as she prepared for the final verdict.

"... in regard to your actions the previous day, you are hereby estranged from the army and banished from the Sanctuary." She had barely heard what the king had said, her eyes empty as she was led out of the room.

She was a Battle Maiden, the only one in the Royal Paladins. Battle Maiden, Macha. She was the legendary commander of the Royal Paladins' elite battalion.

Then, things had gone horribly wrong.

In order to win the battle, the cool-headed commander had ordered her troops to pursue and destroy the enemy, no matter what, heedless of the suffering of the countless civilians who were caught in the crossfire.

The victory was theirs, but Macha arrived at the royal palace in chains.

Stripped of her position and title, she was cast out of the army and the Sanctuary, the place she had once called home. The people who had once respected and admired her now loathed her and despised her.

She wandered aimlessly around Cray, knowing that no other clan would want to take her in. Over time, the injustice she felt, and the bitterness and hurt she bottled inside changed her personality. She bore a grudge against the Royal Paladins, her old friends.

'_Friends...' _

A pair of warm red eyes surfaced in her mind as she shook her head frantically to clear it.

"_How could you?!" _

Cold, red eyes, devoid of their usual cheer.

Her trying to explain, trying to fix things.

A sharp slap.

"_You're not one of us anymore." _

Shaking her head furiously, she mentally berated herself.

'_It's all in the past now…'_

She walked on.

~~~X~~~

A week had passed. Her body weakened from hunger, she was slowly becoming an empty shell, devoid of life. She was made to fight. Without a war to fight, she had no reason to exist.

Then, she met him.

The polar opposite of Blaster Blade, Blaster Dark.

He had seen her slaughter a Royal Paladin scout that had been foolish enough to taunt her about her banishment, and after speaking with her for a few minutes, offered her a place in his clan- the Shadow Paladins. He understood her belief, that the winners decide what is right and what is wrong, but most importantly, he understood _her_.

Her pain of her old friends and comrades casting her aside, rejection from the Sanctuary, simply because her ideals were different from everyone else's… They were alike, in a way. Both of them had been betrayed by the Sanctuary in one way or another, and wanted revenge on those who had wronged them.

So, she accepted.

~~~X~~~

"My Lord, you called?" Macha entered the Dark Warrior's room in the Shadow Paladin's castle. Blaster Dark had requested to speak to her in his chambers, something that surprised her greatly.

"Macha, you are to lead the troops against the Royal Paladins, who have come to capture one of our towns. Is that okay with you?" Blaster Dark asked her, a unusually concerned expression on his face.

He was referring to the fact that the Royal Paladins they were fighting used to be her comrades. After all, it was her first battle as a Shadow Paladin, and he knew how hard it was to fight people who had once been your friends.

Macha's gaze turned contemplative as she considered it.

'_How things have changed,'_ she mused, _'The one place I used to call home feels like an empty shell now.' _

Her gaze resolute, she met his gaze with fierce golden eyes, blazing with vengeance.

"I would be honored, my Lord," she bowed, her eyes hardening, "The victors decide what is right and wrong. Rest assured, I will lead our clan to victory."

~~~X~~~

A flash of red hair at the battleground alerted her to a familiar presence.

'_Akane…'_

Seconds later, she reverted back to her composed mask as she analysed the enemy troops, finding a weak point in their battle formation.

She would win this battle for the Shadow Paladins. Her family. Her home. This time, she had something worth fighting for, someone worth protecting.

Blaster Dark's parting words echoed in her mind.

"_I have faith in you, Macha." _

She smiled, a smile full of confidence and pride as she prepared to charge.

"Draw your swords and hold them high! We are the Shadow Paladins! All troops, charge!" she called out as she too, pulled out her sword, the black metal glinting dangerously as she led the troops into battle.

She was the Maiden of Darkness now.

~~~X~~~

**A/N: Macha is one of my favourite Shadow Paladin cards. I really like her lore, hence the reason I wrote this. I'll probably be doing one on Tartu next~ (she's another one of my favourite Shadow Paladin cards) **

**Thank you, and do drop me a review, I appreciate it :)**


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